About

Claudia has over 25 years experience working with a wide diversity of small businesses and community development programs in the Bay Area. She has been a pioneer in the field of entrepreneurial training and business incubation strategies that reach minorities and women. She excels at building collaboration between groups. She was the first representative from California to the Board of the National Business Incubation Assoc. and founded the Pacific Incubation Network, a west coast regional alliance of business incubators, from Alaska to Baja.

Claudia brings an entrepreneurial mindset to building assets—both financial and social—in organizations. She is committed to assisting both small business and nonprofit ventures in making the transformation that will achieve long term sustainability. Before launching her consulting practice, she served for 14 years as President of the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, an award winning small business training, financing and business incubator program serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

Claudia is a graduate of William Smith College, with post graduate work in Urban Studies. She has one son, four stepsons and seven grandchildren.

Current Affiliations

• Micro Credit Enterprises, Director, Guatemala Study Mission
   
• Women Advancing Microcredit (WAM) Member
   
• TMC Working Solutions Micro Loan Fund, Board Member (2001-Present)
   
• National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), President (2002-2003)
   
• Social Venture Network / SV Institute / Investor's Circle, Member (1998-present)
   
• St. John's Educational Threshold's Center, Board President (2007)
   
• Mal Warwick & Associates (direct mail business), Board Member (2002-present)
   

Previous Affiliations (partial listing)

• Bay Area Community Equity Fund, founding Board Member (1999-2004)
   
• Pacific Incubation Network, Founding Member & Officer (1997-2002)
   
• National Business Incubation Association, Board Member (1996-1999)
   
• San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Board member, Chair, Community Lending Initiative (1993-1996)
   
• Aim High (education program for inner city youth), Board Member (1998-99)
   
• Arriba Juntos (community-based job training program), Board Member (2001-2002)
   

Awards

• 1989 Champion of Small Business Award from the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA)
   
• 1994 Audrey Nelson Award for Excellence from the National Community Development Association
   
• 1996 Business Incubator of the Year, from the National Association of Business Incubation
   

Meeting with Alan Greenspan
and Mary Ann Mitchell on
inner city business
development

"My marketing and public relations expertise builds public support to ensure sustainability."